Tag Archives: entertainment technology center

This is gonna be awesome…

The first week of classes went splendidly! Building Virtual Worlds is the class that’s going to consume every waking hour, I can tell, but all 50 of us are in on it together, so it should be a bonding experience if anything. Everyone in the class is assigned a “role” based on their past experiences and the like (you aren’t limited to only doing your role, you’re just the person responsible for it. For example, someone assigned to modeling could still program, as long as they made sure the modeling got done).

I was very curious as to where they would put me, because I could have done any one of the roles (3D modeler, programmer, painter, or sound designer). I was assigned to painting, which basically means I’m a texture artist. It is exciting, because it’s something I’ve never done before and I’m learning a lot of new things! I’m going to try and dip my hands in the other roles as much as possible, though. There is so much cool stuff to learn!

So for this class, every two weeks we are put into groups and we have to create a virtual world for one of five platforms. When it’s finished, we get put in another group and another 2 week round starts. (Apparently when they first formed the class, they gave the students 6 weeks to build a virtual world, but inevitably students would just goof off for 4 weeks and then panic and churn out all the work in 2. So they just cut it down to 2 week rounds ^_^)

The first “round” was one week, where we basically just learned our tools for our roles. We’ll get our first group and assignment on Tuesday, and I’m super excited!

Having gotten a good grasp on my role, I fled home to Louisville for the long labor day weekend. This is mainly because I know I’ll be so busy that I won’t be able to return until Thanksgiving at best. All the wayward ballers returned to Louisville for a reunion of sorts, so I got to see everyone and feel quite refreshed! I’ll be anxious to get back to Pittsburgh on Monday and finish off my texturing assignments.

YAY SCHOOL!

ETC Orientation

So ETC Orientation was all day today, and I was so excited last night that I could hardly sleep. My excitement was not disappointed! Granted, most of the day was devoted to introductions and nitty gritty need-to-know things, but…

…my God you guys, this place is cool. I am going to have so much fun here! It is like the Science Center, only times 1000.

Also, my classmates all come from such a diverse background. Computer scientists and artists, yes, but also mechanical and electrical engineers, business majors, history majors, medical electricians (I don’t even know what that really is, but it sounds awesome) and of course people are coming from all over the world. I tried to be social today and sit with and talk to different people, but I’m not too worried, because as I understand it I will be working intimately with all 50 people in my class. They throw us into teamwork based projects right from the get-go.

The opportunities and industry names they bring in seem boundless. They told us that if we have anyone really cool in mind, let them know and they’ll try to get them in for one of the seminars (we have seminars every week from faculty and industry professionals alike. Neil Gaiman is coming in the spring. Hooray!). Anyone cool that I should ask to get?

I am exhausted but deliciously excited and super happy. I’m really glad I chose this course of study, and I already know the financial sacrifices will be well worth it. Weee!

More site updates

As promised, more updates on the website, a links page, my resume, and a mailing list you can join if you want to be notified of Lisa life updates. I’ll admit that last bit is redundant if you already read my journal, but some people do not.

It was very stormy today in Pittsburgh, and the power went out for a bit. This was somewhat detrimental when it was still out after I took my “Oh I’ll just nap it out” nap. To save my sanity I went out exploring, treated myself to a cake batter with oreos and strawberries ice cream at Cold Stone, and sure enough the power was back upon my return.

The internet took a bit longer to get as nameless unsecure wireless network took the time to figure out that he or she just needed to restart the router. We’re getting our own cable set up next week, so no longer will I rely on the kindness (carelessness?) of strangers for net access.

Pittsburgh updates

It has been a fantastic week!

On Monday I drove up to Pittsburgh (accompanied by Scott, who kept me from losing my mind on the 7 hour drive)to go apartment scouting with my future roommates. It was quite an adventure. The first 3 places we saw were absolute dumps, and the landlord was crazy, so at first we were all rather worried. However, each place we saw afterwards got better and better, leading up to the last place we saw on the last day, which ended up being the best one (and the one we pounced on right away, because there were a lot of people looking at it).

So, I have a home in Pittsburgh now! Hooray! I will probably move up there sometime in mid-late July, no set dates yet. It only makes me more and more excited about starting at the ETC. Squeak!

The other wonderful thing that happened while I was up there: I found out I won one of the scholarships I applied for! Huzzah! A mere dent in a large tuition fee, but money is money and I feel special for having won.

Yay!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

“Dear Lisa,

Congratulations! It is my great pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted into the Master of Entertainment Technology (MET) degree program of Carnegie Mellon University…”

I AM GOING TO GRAD SCHOOL YAY YAY YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I did have a brief weekend of panic when I first got the acceptance letter, which was for the upcoming semester on their Australia campus starting in February. But it turns out that is just there for people who want to expedite entry and such, and I can start in the fall at Pittsburgh as planned.

SO MUCH AWESOME!